Touch
by Master-Magician
Summary: Wanda was growing desperate. If she didn't figure out a solution soon there was a very real possibility of her going insane.
1. Chapter 1

**I had to step away from writing for a time due to personal reasons. This story marks the beginning of my attempt to get back in and finish my other stories and do new ones. Hopefully it isn't too crappy.**

 **Enjoy.**

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Wanda was growing desperate. If she didn't figure out a solution soon there was a very real possibility of her going insane.

It was something she had never before considered since Pietro was always there at her side, never away for more than a few minutes. But now her twin was gone. To make matters worse the last two weeks was nowhere near enough time for the fresh wound to stop bleeding let alone heal.

Wanda pulled her second blanket tighter around her petite frame while she curled up around the pillow searching for warmth. Still it did not help, the crippling chill and hollowness that was spread through her whole body did not abate.

When this began, Wanda assumed she was coming down with some kind of illness. It would have been the first Pietro wasn't there to take care of her, but not the first time she was sick. After several days the second youngest Avenger displayed no other symptoms, just a deep near crippling chill.

It lingered wherever she went, no matter where or what she was doing. Blankets, sunshine, a near boiling hot shower, it was always there.

A few days short of the two week mark of her brother's death was when Wanda figured out what was wrong.

Her twin's demise was part of it, but that pain was an entirely different matter. It came down to the fact that Wanda hadn't been touched in almost two weeks.

Pietro may not have seemed like it to any outsider watching him, but when it came to his twin sister the blonde man was very affectionate, always close to his sister. His hand would often find hers from seemingly nowhere or he would have a hand on her lower back, an arm around her shoulders, things like that. The gestures were so commonplace that neither he nor Wanda even noticed it anymore.

If Wanda had to guess, it began the day they lost their parents. Two children huddled together beneath the bed waiting to die. For two days they were there, clutching each other with all their tiny bodies had.

Even while they grew up as children, they would always hold each other. Especially during the freezing nights when they were homeless on the streets of Sokovia.

With Pietro gone, the touches she so badly wanted, no craved, ceased. It was like Wanda's body was going through withdrawals.

The whole thing made Wanda feel like a drug addict without their fix. This was why she kept it secret from the rest of the Avengers. It was more than a little embarrassing. She was supposed to be an Avenger, she didn't need to have physical contact with another person to live.

All she could do was hope it was going to go away after a while.

Only it didn't.

Around a month after Pietro's death it got even worse. Now it was starting to cause horrible sleepless nights alongside an inability to sit still. The lack of rest was also affecting her performance, not enough to be noticed by anyone else except her thankfully.

If it continued getting worse she would be caught eventually.

If she didn't have some physical contact soon she didn't know what she was going to do. She even considered literally just tripping so someone would catch her or just randomly hugging someone. Maybe she could just lie to vision and say it was something humans did. The embarrassment would be worth it just to make the feeling stop.

That idea was instantly smothered after a small talk with Steve.

Wanda had noticed the moment she began her training as an Avenger that everyone gave her a wide berth. No one was willing to get physically close to her, no one except for Vision but even he stayed just barely out of arm reach.

For a while she wondered why everyone was like that around her but she just assumed that everyone was just getting accustomed to each other. As time went on though she noticed that lack of proximity was directed at her only.

Sam and Steve would often share pats on the back or handshakes, Rhodes was the same toward the other two men, Natasha never hesitated to touch Steve, and so on.

Why was everyone so scared to be close to Wanda?

She wanted an answer so badly that she brought it up to Steve before realizing it.

Her initial answer was a muttered swear word and a groan.

Steve continued before she could ask what was wrong. "I was afraid of this, Natasha may have told them about umm... your powers."

"What about them?" Wanda looked at the leader of the Avengers quizzically. It would be important for the rest of the team to know what she could do.

The realization a moment later struck Wanda harder than a blow by Thor's hammer.

Wanda's eyes widened as she felt like her heart was about to stop. Natasha told the newer team about what Wanda did while following Ultron. How she hit almost all of the Avengers with nightmarish visions to stop them. Visions that left most of them scarred even til this day.

If Natasha told them about that, then she likely also told them about how the Hulk's rampage that day into a heavily populated area was her fault as well.

For that matter, Stark was the first person she attacked with her mental powers back in the lower levels of the castle in Sokovia. It was the vision she showed the genius inventor that led to the creation of Ultron, the near extinction of humanity, the partial destruction of her homeland alongside the death of god knows how many innocent people.

The death of her brother.

That last thought felt like a punch directly to Wanda's stomach.

Suddenly Wanda collapsed to her knees, breathing soon becoming difficult as her heart rate skyrocketed. The rapid thumping in her chest felt like it was going to explode from her ribs any moment.

"Wanda?" Steve dropped to one knee beside the young woman, his voice laced with concern. "Wanda are you okay?"

Wanda's eyes were glues to the floor as she began to hyperventilate. Her hands gripped the hem of her dress so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

By some miracle, her powers hadn't gone haywire yet.

"Wanda talk to me." Steve was sounding more worried by the moment but she barely heard the super soldier's voice. It was as if she were underwater and he was calling out to her from far away.

Everything was her fault.

Ultron would have never been created if she hadn't messed with Tony Stark's mind. She did so out of a petty desire for revenge. Her misguided desire for vengeance nearly led to the deaths of billions.

It did lead Pietro's death.

How on earth could she ever think she deserved to be an Avenger? Pietro was the true Avenger, sure Wanda came first in his eyes but he was always willing to help others when he had the ability.

She needed to leave, soon. Wanda had no right to be there among the heroes. All along she had been deluding herself into thinking she could be one of them, that she could be a hero herself.

The wild jumble that was Wanda's thoughts instantly stilled when she felt a strong but gently hand grip her shoulder.

The sudden warm sensation of physical contact did not dissolve the horrible chill she had been feeling but it did weaken it.

Before Wanda even knew she was doing it, her gaze snapped up to meet Steve's own blue orbs.

The blonde almost immediately pulled his hand back like he was caught doing something he was not supposed to.

"No don't!" Wanda all but shouted as she latched her hand onto his to keep it in place. Even she had to wince at how whiney and desperate her voice sounded just then.

Regardless, Steve's hand remained right where it was on Wanda's shoulder.

Wanda focused her mind on the contact to her shoulder in order to calm the raging tempest of her own mind. Before long her heart rate and breathing slowly lowered back down to normal levels.

While she calmed down, Steve remained completely silent.

Taking a deep breath, Wanda spoke in a hushed whisper. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for but what happened?" Wanda did not have any idea how to explain everything she was feeling without making herself sound so weak.

Sucking in another lungful of air, Wanda again focused her mind on the feeling of the hand on her shoulder, drawing strength from the physical connection to another person.

"You don't have to explain it." Steve began as he looked her over. "Just remember if you need help we're right here."

Not trusting her own voice, Wanda nodded slightly before rushing away.

Since Wanda's back was turned she didn't see the look on Steve's face as he watched her leave. "Hmm..."

Several days later, Wanda had just finished another round of training with the newer Avengers. The practice did more than just help with her control of her powers. Sometimes it helped deal with her other problem but not by much.

At least not as much as Steve's hand had.

She had been a little bit better after that but not for long. She slipped back into how she was before she got the contact from Steve.

Wanda was heading back inside after a round of power training outside when her mind ground to a halt from the feel of a hand at her lower back.

She let out a silent gasp at the physical contact and when she turned to see who it was Wanda was greeted by a smiling Steve. "Nice job today Wanda." The super soldier was gone before she could respond. Taking his hand with him.

Before she could even process what happened, Sam came up from behind her as well and lightly tapped her shoulder with his own. "Like the man said, but you'll never be able to fly as fast as me." Sam moved past her as well, his smile warm and tone with his normal friendly teasing.

The younger Avenger watched both men leave in disbelief, the hollow chill receding more from her body more and more.

Later that evening Wanda received a massive surprise.

"Clint?!" Wanda all but yelled as the archer strolled into the annex of the Avengers facility. By sheer dumb luck she had been walking by when he came in.

Clint smiled when he noticed her. "Hey there ki... oof." His words were cut short when Wanda rushed toward him, throwing her arms around his neck. She almost barreled him over in the process but he managed to catch both of them before they could fall.

"Whew, what has cap been teaching you kids? You almost took us both out." Clint laughed as he returned the embrace.

Wanda giggled as well but buried her face into his shirt to hide any tears that might threaten to slip out.

Clint was the closest thing to a father-figure Wanda ever had since the death of her parents. She did not care what could have possibly brought him here today but she didn't care.

This was it, this was the kind of affection Wanda so badly needed. For the first time since she had lost Pietro, that horrible feeling was gone. Leaving in its place a warmth like no other.

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 **Probably going to do a part 2 of this one from Steve. Depends on reception.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A lot of people expressed interest in seeing that second chapter. Well wish granted, hopefully it lives up to all of your expectations.**

 **Seeing as how the Romangers ship was pretty much sunk recently, I think Scarlet America is my new go to Avengers ship. If Bruce/Natasha can come out of left field and be cannon then so can Steve/Wanda.**

 **Enjoy.**

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Something was wrong with Wanda. But what that was, Steve just couldn't figure it out.

She had taken the death of her brother a little better than he had been hoping, so that was at least something. Steve had seen all too many times what happens when a person loses the one closest to them. Sometimes they just snap and lose it. Grief did that to a person, rational thought was completely lost and the person becomes lost in the pain.

Fortunately, Wanda seemed to want to move on. She had no complaints about working alongside the Avengers. Although Steve wondered how much of it had to do with guilt over the whole Ultron fiasco. It had been Wanda that practically tore the team apart and sent the Hulk into a huge rampage.

Steve was a firm believer in second chances. Especially after he heard the twins story. They lost both parents at only ten years old, the only family the pair had left were each other.

They volunteered for the HYDRA experiments for the sake of their war torn country. The Maximoffs only wanted to protect their home.

It reminded Steve so much of himself that it was scary.

Steve never did tell the rest of the team what happened after he met the twins when the trio managed to stop the train. When blonde was engaging Ultron, he was losing. As hard as he fought it just wasn't enough to defeat the AI. Then the Maximoffs arrived to provide reinforcements. Ultron soon fled but left the out of control train with countless people onboard and in front of it.

It would have been the perfect opportunity for them. While Steve was distracted trying to save the civilians they could have easily slipped away, just like when the Avengers first hit Strucker's castle. There would have been zero ways to track the twins after that if they didn't want to be found.

But what did the twins do?

The moment Steve mentioned the civilians in front of the train, Pietro was instantly sprinting away to move them and clear the path. While Wanda used her own powers, pushing herself as hard as she could to stop the train. Steve really didn't do all that much beside almost take a piece of debris to the face. The twins did all the actual work to save those people. That alone earned the pair a second chance from Steve's perspective.

Now Steve did tell the Avengers how the Maximoffs were the ones who saved all those people. It was the after he didn't talk about.

Pietro hid his emotions quite well, maybe as a spy Natasha would have been able to read him but not Steve. Wanda was an entirely different story. One look at her face and Steve could see the guilt etched into her features. Everyone assumed that the Maximoffs had asked, maybe even begged for a chance to help.

They didn't.

In fact, Wanda seemed as if she was expecting Steve to cart her off to prison or something. If her body language was any clue, she wouldn't have fought back all that hard if the super soldier tried.

Steve knew their story, they were not at fault here. Ultron must have offered them something they desperately needed. Otherwise they wouldn't have been helping the AI. If the twins were helping Ultron for any other reason, the two wouldn't have saved everyone on that train. They would have ran and left them to die.

The twins were good people at heart, all they needed was a chance to prove it. Being a believer in second chances, Steve was all too happy to give them one.

Steve did the only thing he could do, offered to bring the Maximoffs with him to fix their mistake. The look on Pietro's face could only be described as dumbfounded. Wanda had been too shocked to speak at the time.

Therefore the twins were his responsibility. He brought them into the Avengers, and as leader of the team he was supposed to look after the people who followed him into battle. It was how he led since the days of the Howling Commandos.

Only Steve failed.

It was part of the leader's job to make sure those under your command came home, better a stretcher than a casket. The Avengers fought their hardest to defeat the mad AI, they were almost in the clear. So close to the end of the battle before the unthinkable happened.

Pietro was killed.

For obvious reasons, Wanda took it hardest. But she wasn't the only one to take the loss hard. Steve did as well. The blonde twin was only there because of Steve. Wanda should have hated the super soldier, should have hit him, hexed him, anything. Wanda had every right to be angry at Steve but she wasn't.

Steve never did question her about it but she must have sensed his thought or something because she answered him anyway. "Pietro died protecting Sokovia, it's what he would have wanted."

The super soldier couldn't argue with that. It was similar to what he said when he crashed that plane into the ice. Steve 'died' to protect his own home. Only he was allowed to come back years later, alive but to a changed world. Pietro was not going to get such an opportunity.

Steve failed one of the twins, he was not going to fail the other. The super soldier made a promise, to both himself and Pietro's grave, that he would look after Wanda. If not for himself, then for Pietro.

This was why Steve was practically tearing his hair out. Wanda was having trouble but over what? Steve at first assumed it to be because she was still grieving. She was but that just didn't seem to be the cause.

A blurted question from Wanda ended up allowing Steve to figure the issue out.

"Why does everyone avoid touching me?" Steve turned to look at the young woman, whom had just slapped both hands over her mouth.

The Avengers had just finished a group exercise in one of the outside fields. Everyone else had went inside already, Wanda had hung back until everyone but Steve was gone.

Steve thought for a moments before nearly knocking his head on the wall for not seeing it already. "I was afraid of this, Natasha may have told them about umm... your powers."

The blonde should have seen it coming already. Natasha was still bitter about what Wanda did to her and the others back during the incident with Ultron.

Steve assumed Natasha had gotten over it and was moving on, apparently she didn't and wasn't.

If Natasha told everyone to stay away from Wanda because of what she did in South America... Steve was going to have a nice long chat with the redhead assassin. The last thing Wanda needed was to feel unwelcome. She had every right to be there like everyone else did.

"What about them?" Wanda seemed confused.

The super soldier was at a loss on how to explain it gently without upsetting her.

Two seconds later Wanda must have came to her own conclusion about what Steve meant because her face changed from confusion to horror.

Before Steve could say another word, Wanda dropped to her knees. She seemed to suddenly have trouble breathing. Her body starting to tremble almost violently.

"Wanda?" The super soldier moved to kneel beside the young woman. "Wanda are you okay?"

She never for a moment looked up, her eyes were fixed to the floor. If the erratic breathing was any indication Wanda was starting to hyperventilate. Her body was starting to tremble almost violently.

"Wanda talk to me." Steve was starting to inwardly panic. Wanda was in desperate need of help, but what on earth could he do?

As a last resort, Steve grabbed onto her shoulder.

It was as if a switch was flipped in the woman. She instantly stopped shaking, her dark eyes shooting up to meet his blue ones.

Fearing he had done something he shouldn't have, Steve moved to pull his hand away.

"No don't!" Wanda's voice sounded almost like she was begging as her smaller hand grabbed onto his with surprising strength.

Steve was still at a loss for what to do, so he just let his hand stay right where it was.

The pair were silent for several long moments. Steve watched as the young woman slowly started to calm down.

It was not lost on the super soldier that she had been getting worse and worse until he touched her. He didn't avoid touching her because of what happened in South America. He did it because he thought she hated being touched. She always seemed to avoid getting within physical proximity to people unless it was part of training.

"Sorry." Wanda muttered under her breath.

"Nothing to be sorry for but what happened?" Steve would have really preferred to have the problem explained to him so that it was nice and clear.

Unfortunately, Wanda took multiple deep lungfuls of air in an attempt to speak but seemed unable to voice her thoughts.

"You don't have to explain it." Steve told her, things like this could not be forced. "Just remember if you need help we're right here."

Steve meant every word. They were a team, being there for each other was in the job description near the top.

Wanda said nothing, just gave a nod of the head before practically running away.

Watching her go, Steve let his mind wonder. "Hmm..."

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For the following days, Steve watched Wanda closely. Just as he suspected, she tried repeated to get close to people but they always moved away. Natasha even added a nasty glare for added effect.

Vision at least had an excuse. The android was still learning normal human behavior, he didn't know what was right and what was wrong. Natasha was the largest problem but not one that could be solved today or soon. Rhodey might be an issue, Steve could talk to him soldier to soldier though. Sam had been the easier one to tackle.

All it took was a short talk with him for him to understand what Steve thought the issue may be. He was all too happy to help him test his theory. Steve could have done it on his own but the more people who contributed the better.

The team had just finished yet another round of training outside. This time, Sam and Steve held back and waited for everyone to leave. Just as Steve thought she would, Wanda wanted to be last to leave. When she figured out the two men were not going anywhere she decided to go.

Steve came up behind her while she wasn't paying attention. His enhanced hearing caught the soft gasp Wanda let out when he placed a hand on her lower back. Steve made sure when she looked that he was giving her his warmest smile possible. "Nice job today Wanda."

Just as they discussed earlier, Sam came up next after Steve left. "Like the man said, but you'll never be able to fly as fast as me." He gave her shoulder a slight bump with his own as he walked by. Giving Wanda a smile of his own in the process.

Wanda was quite surprised. That much was obvious, but her eyes said everything. She was beyond grateful.

After Steve and Sam's small display, the blonde noticed Wanda's behavior change slightly. She seemed more calm, less fidgety.

Steve was starting to get a clue what the true problem was.

An idea popped into the super soldier's mind. First he needed to make a phone call to the only person remotely close to Wanda that was still alive. A certain former SHIELD agent.

A short time later, Steve was sitting in front of a computer screen as Clint's face came up on the screen. "Hey Cap, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

The archer was covered in splotches of sawdust. Steve almost had to laugh, the man really would never finish working on that farmhouse of his.

"It's about Wanda." The moment the words were past Steve's lips, Clint went from smiling friendly and happy to concerned and worried.

"What's going on? Is she okay?"

"She's fine... I think. Look I know it's short notice but I need you to come for a visit. No mission or anything, just to say hello or something." Steve explained, watching Clint's expression.

The look Steve got from the archer told him he was not buying it and wanted more detail. Steve wasn't sure he had what Clint wanted.

"Alright there's something wrong but I think I got it figured out. When can you get here?" The sooner Steve could get Clint to the facility the better.

"Send a quinjet my way and I'll be there tonight."

It went a bit easier than Steve had thought it would. He expected the archer to want a full explanation about what was happening. Then again, he always did have a soft spot for the female Maximoff.

Now all Steve had to do was figure out how to surprise Wanda with the visit from Clint. He didn't want the two to just run into each other in the hallways.

As it turned out, he didn't have to do anything.

Steve was waiting on the upper level of the Avengers facility's annex when the archer walked in. Now that Clint was here, Steve was about to head down to the main level when a yell made him jump.

"Clint?!"

Steve looked down and found that Wanda had just walked into the room as well. Well, that mental dilemma was just solved.

"Hey there Ki... oof." Clint gave Wanda one of his fatherly smiles when he saw the young woman. The archer never had the chance to finish his sentence before Wanda launched herself at the older man in a bone crushing embrace that would have made the Hulk cringe. Clint was almost knocked down by the sudden move but he caught them both just in time.

"Whew, what has cap been teaching you kids? You almost took us both out." Clint was laughing as he held Wanda close.

His enhanced hearing was the only reason Steve was able to hear the quiet giggle Wanda let out.

Steve was surprised. Clint, with just a few moments and a hug, seemed to have completely reversed Wanda's behavior. Definitely for the better.

"So that was it." Steve whispered.

The super soldier had his suspicions about what was plaguing Wanda. He still felt like hitting his head on the wall for being so dense. Having no family growing up save her twin, Wanda had never been far from Pietro while he was alive. Steve had seen some of it during the short time he was around both. Wanda had gone her whole life almost always having physical contact with her twin. She had grown so accustomed to it that she didn't know what to do without it.

The super soldier couldn't bring her brother back, but this was something he could help her with.

Steve merely just smiled as he watched as Clint lead the pair out of the room, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.


End file.
